Hi all,
I know this forum isn't as active as the general ones but hopefully I can get some answers.

I am in Israel right now and will be here probably for about 4 more years. Then I plan on moving back to the States (San Francisco, CA) for good.

I have an MA in English and have been teaching writing and literature courses at the college level (both on ground and online, mainly online in the last 3 years) at US universities. Now that I am in Israel, I plan on teaching English (EFL) with private tutoring. Also, I've been told from some people who work in the college system here that I would probably be able to teach at the college level with my degree and experience (I have an Israeli citizenship and know the language well, so that's not an issue).

My question is, when I get back to the States, would I have some opportunities to teach ESL in addition to the kinds of courses I already teach, even though I don't have specific training in ESL teaching? If not, would I be able to do a TESL certificate (I know that SF has a few places where you can do even a CELTA) to get the training I need and use that as well as my experience and other degree?

I'm just trying to get a sense of whether this option might be open for me when I get back to the States .

Right now there are a ton of jobseekers on the market. Our school (2 year college in the Midwest) had a couple of openings for ESL adjuncts last semester and had over 20 applications. Community colleges hire M.A. degree holders and I think your overseas experience would qualify you for ESL. It really depends on where you want to teach and how attractive the area/school/ position is (=Florida probably can be pickier than Chicago, for example). If you want to do a CELTA you can find lower-cost programs overseas than here, unless you have a free/cheap place to stay in one of the cities where it's offered.

I've seen very few community colleges that hire ESL teachers on other than an hourly basis. If I wanted to work 20 hours a week, without benefits and for $20/hr, I had to work three separate shifts. I met a man from CA with an MA in TESOL who was working full-time by piecing work together and driving a bazillion miles a day. The market in the US only seems to be getting tighter.

I'm not sure I've ever seen a job ad in the US that mentioned a CELTA or other certificate. It's generally an MA in TESOL or another MA with 18 graduate hours in TESOL.

You could keep an eye on the TESOL site: (http://careers.tesol.org/jobs/) and Higher Ed Jobs (www.higheredjobs.com) to get a feel for what's out there.

Thanks so much for the responses. I sort of figured it would be something like that. So it looks like some experience teaching abroad with my MA in English might allow me some options to pick up courses if I were doing it in lieu of teaching the kinds of courses I've been teaching (writing composition, literature, business writing, etc) but the market is pretty crummy everywhere (heck, I knew that already ).

Thanks, scintillatestar. I'm wondering if the West Coast is like the East Coast in that sense. I would hope that San Francisco and NYC would have similar requirements . I did look at the CATESOL website (the TESOL organization for CA) and it seems to list that an MA in a related field (like mine in English) and a TESOL certificate qualifies for junior and community college ESL jobs, so that's encouraging. Of course, being qualified doesn't mean I would or could get anything, given the job market nowadays .

The big area for jobs in the US right now is public school teaching. You would need to go through another MA program to do this to make sure you meet a particular state's qualifications. Look carefully as many of these programs are heavily subsidized (i.e. you can do an MA for about $4000 total and work in a public school at the same time) alternative certification programs. Check with a university if they have such a program or just key-in New York City Teaching Fellows or Teach for America in Google. Bear in mind what exactly public school teaching entails. In larger cities, this means working with a lot of lower income children whose parents may not have the time to commit to their children. Also, when I was in NYC there were huge overlaps between ESL and special ed students... If you go the public route, the salary and benefits are good particularly in wealthier states such as NYC or Connecticut. Many states, however, are stripping benefits and guarantees and are scape-goating teachers for the persistent achievement gap and unrealistic aspirations of No-Child Left Behind. Administrative support is also lacking in most schools. The work can be political with the Union at odds with the school Administration and teachers caught in the middle. Politicians often do not seem to be on the same page as teachers either.

Certain teaching certifications are considered high need areas such as special education, ESL, or math. If you are certified in social studies for middle school or high school, there will be less demand. If you are certified in any kind of art such as dance or fine arts, all I can say is good luck!

Teachers who certify in high needs areas will find a lot of jobs in public schools particularly in larger US cities. The other thing to try is to apply to high needs schools. Schools that serve low income communities are probably less desirable places to work and would be easier to find a job at.

Programs such as Teach for America (US national program) or Teaching Fellows Programs (major cities in the US such as New York or Chicago) are set up to accept applicants who plan to pursue certification in areas such as ESL, bilingual education, special education, or math. You then agree to work in a high needs school. And then they pretty much guarantee you a job near the start of your MS in education program, and you finish the master's degree while you work in a fully salaried teaching position.

Charter schools are also a possibility. The pay is much less and the work day is longer, but you can apply directly and see what happens.

Private schools are another possibility, but they accept applicants often only with a BA degree. Salaries in US private schools in New York City and in Westchester are poor.

If you already have a MA or MS in one of the high needs education areas from on of the traditional programs, you will probably be fine trying to get a job. If you don't have a high needs specialty, consider casting your net wider and looking at less competitive places to work in the US. At the most extreme is Alaska or the Department of Defense (overseas teaching to base brats at various places around the world such as Okinawa), where you might definitely find work. If you have certification in a particular state, look at all jurisdictions and apply to places you think you might enjoy living....

"If you already have a MA or MS in one of the high needs education areas from on of the traditional programs, you will probably be fine trying to get a job. If you don't have a high needs specialty, consider casting your net wider and looking at less competitive places to work in the US. At the most extreme is Alaska or the Department of Defense (overseas teaching to base brats at various places around the world such as Okinawa), where you might definitely find work."

A couple of corrections here: 1. An MA or MS is NOT needed to be hired by the DoD; 2. most of the DoD jobs are right here in the US, teaching on military bases. In fact, when initially hired, you will be almost certain to be teaching in the US, at least until you finish your "probationary period" of two years since the overseas jobs are assigned to teachers who have completed that first.

My step-daughter, who has a BA in music education, is currently in the second year of her probation period at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. When she completes that, she'll likely request an overseas position.

Thanks for the responses, everyone. Timothy, I actually have no interest at all in teaching for the public school system in the States (or anywhere, for that matter - not even here in Israel!) My interest is primarily teaching for adults and at the college level. I'm most definitely going to try and get into a CELTA program (in San Francisco), though my accommodations with my brother might delay the application for me until this summer (still waiting for a response from him on that). But it seems like the best way to go for me.

I'm not sure I've ever seen a job ad in the US that mentioned a CELTA or other certificate. It's generally an MA in TESOL or another MA with 18 graduate hours in TESOL. You could keep an eye on the TESOL site: (http://careers.tesol.org/jobs/) and Higher Ed Jobs (www.higheredjobs.com) to get a feel for what's out there.

I totally agree with uh huh. Check out the sites mentioned above to see what academic qualifications US employers require; you most likely won't find any mentioning a CELTA. Although widely recognized and less costly than a university-attained certificate, the CELTA is simply a 120-hour, entry-level certificate that doesn't require a bachelors degree to get into the program. If you're intent on teaching ESL at the college/uni level, consider completing a post-grad TESOL cert from one of your local universities instead, especially since you'll be competing against others with masters degrees that included a 135-hour (semester long) practicum. Plus, it would show you're serious about continuing your professional development.

nomad and uh huh, I hear what you're saying. However, I have been looking at the ESL jobs on the websites that uh huh referenced just to get an idea and most of the job postings ask for MA in TESOL, Applied Linguistics or "related field". I have an MA in a related field (English), so for most college jobs posted there, I would technically qualify (with teaching experience, of course). True, there are a lot of individuals with an MA in TESOL and Applied Ling which would probably be considered before me, but then, applying to any university job these days has a zillion and one people before you who are more qualified (and someone with a PhD in Applied Ling would qualify over the people who would qualify over me ).

In other words, the degree and teaching experience I already have wouldn't count me out and getting a TESOL certificate would further give me training.

I also hear you about looking into a TESOL certificate at a local community college or university and I did look at that (in the SF Bay Area). But most of those programs are at least a year long, which I don't have (since I'm in Israel at the moment and plan on being here for several years) and are much more expensive than the CELTA (which was a surprise, actually - I thought they would be cheaper or at least the same).

At any rate, I'm thinking that a CELTA for right now plus experience that I'll get here in Israel would be a start and then when I get back to the States, see how the job hunt goes. If I really can't find any work teaching English, I can always go for a TESOL certificate at one of the UC or Cal State schools in the area (since I'll be living there at that point, so housing and out-of-state tuition fees won't be an issue at that point).

If you plan to work at a public school, which usually has the highest salary, you will probably need to be certified by that state. Usually this entails student teaching (where as far as I know you don't get paid). This is a problem I'm currently encountering and trying to solve.